Danganronpa: A Night at the Mall
by yeehaw02
Summary: 16 Ultimates wake up on a bus headed to an abandoned mall where they will stay until Little Kuma, the administrator, decides they can go. People will cry, people will fall in love; but most importantly people will get killed! Currently: Day 1, daily life
1. Chapter 1

Danganronpa: A Night at the Mall

Life is full of many choices; will you meet new people or stay inside and relax? Go out to eat or make food at home? Kill or be killed? You always have the freedom to decide, but what if you couldn't make those decisions for yourself?

Pale green eyes opened to face a large gray wall. The body was slumped onto the floor, but it straightened itself when it gained suddenly realized where he was. The rumbling, the absence of light, the gray wall- it was a bus. The figure looked over the gray seat and saw that there was no one else on the dim bus. He tried to stand up when a small squeak stole his attention.

"Hey, don't you know you can't stand up on a moving vehicle?" The figure snapped back onto the seat and turned to face the creature that spoke the line. He was met with a bear about a foot tall and covered in brown fur.

"W-what are you?" The figure stammered, putting his hands out to protect himself.

The bear chuckled. "I'm your guide for this trip: Little Kuma!" The bear looked at the boy, who was still shocked. "I guess you don't see talking bears every day…Whatever! I'm just here to remind you to stay seated. Okay, Haruki?"

"H-how do you know who I am?" The brunette boy spat, disgusted by the way his name sounded from that creature.

Another chuckle. "Silly, I know all of the students at my school. You remember registering, don't you?" The bear gasped. "Oh that's right! I'm not supposed to spoil anything else until everyone wakes up! I'll give you a formal explanation later." Little Kuma winked and hopped away to the front of the bus, leaving the boy confused and worried.

Haruki regained his wits and tried to check his surroundings again, this time avoiding standing up and alerting the weird bear again. Adjacent to his seat was another seat, which had a small sleeping girl laying in it. Haruki wondered if he should wake her, but the bus hit a bump before he could decide. She bolted up after the bump and looked around herself before landing her gaze on Haruki.

"Where am I?" She asked sleepily, yawning at the end of her sentence.

"I don't have a clue. All I know is that there's a talking bear and that this is a trip somewhere. What's your name?" He inched to the edge of his seat.

"Chouko!" She said, a bit more energetic. "What's your name?" She tucked her short chocolate hair behind her ears.

"Haruki Hashimoto. I hope we can be friends once this bus stops."

The girl smiled. "Me too."

A sudden thud erupted in the bus, causing Haruki and Chouko to look behind their seats. A groan followed the sound, and it sounded human enough to ease the twos' worries. They briefly shared a glance before Chouko called out, "are you okay?"

A pause and then, "yeah, I'm good. Aagh, I really can't sleep on a bus like that. My goddamn back'll take forever to unstiffen."

The body that belonged to the carefree voice stood up, giving a silhouette with what appeared to be a ponytail sticking up off his head. The brown bear was on the case, even jumping over Haruki's legs to reach the voice. Apparently that creature was a surprise to everyone, Haruki judged by the scream that followed it's introduction.

"Look what you've done now, you've woken everyone else up too! Geez, I thought I'd have a quiet peaceful drive, but now I'll have to watch over you kids." Even though this wasn't the first time he heard the bear's voice, Haruki still couldn't grasp it. He looked over to Chouko, who was very confused by the bear that passed by them again in a flash.

"What is that thing? Is it evil?" She asked, her hand clutching the collar of her button-up shirt.

Haruki didn't hesitate to answer. "I don't know. He hasn't tried to kill any of us yet though, so I think we're safe." He smiled, trying to ease the fear that was on Chouko's face. His statement only made her more worried. "I meant that as a joke! There's no way a toy could kill us."

"I hope not…" She trailed off, relaxing her face.


	2. Chapter 2

They sat in silence for a moment before an annoyed face popped in between their seats. "Hey, can you two be quiet? It's too early for this level of volume." The male said in a snotty tone, taking Haruki by surprise.

"S-sorry sir!" He stuttered, causing the other guy to laugh sharply.

"Don't call me 'sir', I hear that too much; I am Osamu Yamashita. Call me that." He retreated to his own seat, giving Haruki a great deal of confusion.

"Hey wait!" Haruki turned in his own seat to see the mysterious male behind him. "What's your problem?"

In the seat, Osamu was sitting upright and appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He opened his eyes and spoke again.

"It's not often you get the opportunity to relax without any idea of what you need to do. You should take advantage of it." With that, he went back to sleep, simultaneously closing the conversation. Haruki fixed his position so he was facing forward again and sighed.

"I guess he doesn't want to make friends on this trip.." He spoke dejectedly, slumping in his seat.

In front of Chouko was a small person fidgeting and looking back to Haruki for moments at a time. When they locked eyes, the other person squeaked and looked away promptly. Haruki leaned forward to see the person barely peeking out of their seat.

"Hey are you okay? You look upset.." He asked, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

Before the small person could get a word out, a woman two seats ahead of Haruki popped in.

"Tsu just wanted to tell you there was something under your seat. They're pretty shy, so be nice." She smiled softly and the one she referred to as 'Tsu' nodded contently.

Haruki was confused. "How do you two already know each other so well?"

Again the woman spoke, "I guess I'm naturally good at connecting with shy people. We aren't twins or anything, don't worry." She gave a small laugh.

"That's not what I was worried about.." Haruki mumbled only loud enough for him to hear. He then spoke louder, "Oh yeah, something under my seat!" He swiftly looked under his seat and, sure enough, there was a black box about the size of a small guitar amp on the floor. Where the clasps should be was a clunky blue lock. Whatever was in the box wasn't heavy, he found out after picking it up.

"What could be in that?" The girl asked, putting her hands out for a transfer. Haruki awkwardly gave the box to her, letting her examine its exterior.

"What if it's something dangerous?" Tsu asked.

"I don't think so." Haruki hesitantly responded. "It didn't feel like anything heavy. Besides, who would put anything dangerous in there?"

"We'll never know until we open it." The woman added.

Just then, the brown bear popped up in between the three kids. Tsu screamed lightly, and the woman tried to push the bear away.

"Hey, where'd you get that box from? It's super important!" The bear asked.

"I just found it under my seat!" Haruki desperately defended himself, gesturing to the other two people there. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah, we don't even know what's in it" chimed the woman. The bear sighed in annoyance.

"Okay, well if you really don't know what's in it, then I'll just take it from you until we get to our destination!" Little Kuma let out a cheerful laugh, took the box and carried it away with ease.

"That bear is so weird..Oh by the way, I never got your name." He pointed at the woman. "What is it?"

"I mean, you didn't tell me yours either, but that's fine. I'm Chika Hanae." She smiled.

"That's a nice name. Mine is Haruki Hashimoto. I hope we can be friends!

"I just remembered I never actually said my name either.. It's Tsubasa, but you can call me Tsu since it's easy to remember."

During the next half hour, everyone woke up and started to introduce themselves when the bus took a sudden turn and pulled into the parking lot for a large building. It reflected some light into the bus, giving its passengers a small glimpse of each other. After so long without pause, it was refreshing when the vehicle came to a slow stop. The lights in the bus flashed on without warning, provoking a groan from all the students.

Before they could complain more, Little Kuma spoke up via the buses intercom system. "Okay everyone, we have arrived at our destination! Please file out and wait outside for me!"


	3. Chapter 3

The night was cold and it felt like ages before everyone was off the bus. Last off was Little Kuma, who seemed even smaller with the teens standing up now. Clumps naturally formed, since you couldn't realistically talk to everyone on the bus with how it's set up and people grew closer with those around them.

"Alright, now that everyone is here and accounted for, let the fun begin!" Little Kuma cheered. "Everyone; follow me so we can get you all situated for the night!"

They all reluctantly followed the bear, entering the large building.

The space was even more vast from the inside, displaying many smaller sections within in and spanning out across three levels. There was a large gathering area, acting as the center of the mall which had four long areas going in each direction and was the only part of the building that was well-lit.

"It's kinda creepy being in an abandoned building, don'tcha think? What if something bad happens?" Chouko whispered to Haruki.

"I don't think anything bad will happen." He responded.

The teenagers all crowded right in front of the entrance, murmuring loud enough to fail to observe the click of the door behind them. Only when Little Kuma squeezed through the many pairs of legs did the room fall silent.

"We're all locked up now!" The bear cheered. "Now that that matter is all taken care of, welcome to the Hope's Peak mall camp-away sleepover! You may not have noticed, but we're all standing in a giant mall. There's lots of empty store here, which means lots to explore! It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Excuse me what?" A muscular well-kept guy exclaimed. " Is this a joke? You can't just take kids to an abandoned mall and pass it off as some fun 'party'! I'm calling the police." He reached into his khaki pockets angrily before freezing, then turning out his pockets. "My phone's not there.." He mumbled.

Little Kuma laughed. "Of course it's not! This is a school trip, and we want you to unplug and enjoy it. I collected all your personal devices on the bus, so they're okay." He picked up a box- the box that Tsubasa found on the bus. "All your phones and such are in here until out trip is over."

"Wait, no phones? How am I supposed to keep up with the latest memes?" A girl said, almost too fast to understand.

"Don't you worry!" The bear consoled, hopping closer to the girl. "This trip doesn't have to take that long. In fact, it's entirely up to you how long you spend here!"

"Well I choose to end it now." The angry guy said, forcefully walking to the door and attempting to open it albeit it being locked. It took a few tries before he gave up and returned to the group.

"I wouldn't let you leave that quickly! Now, it's pretty late for you kids to be up, so I picked out rooms for you to sleep in. They're all in the north wing, and they're labeled with your picture." He paused, waiting for any kind of response. Nothing. "Go, go!" He yelled, getting everyone to run into the north end of the mall.

Just like he said, there were empty stores with beds, desks, dressers and trash cans in them. Haruki was fortunate to have the first one on the right side, It was definitely his, he thought, since it has that dumb old picture of him on there.

"Why did he have to pick my third grade picture?" He asked himself, taking another look at the printed photo. Not receiving any kind of psychic response, he sighed and entered the room. It had posters of paper and pens on the walls, and many boxes along the back wall. On the bed, there was a note with Haruki's name printed on it. He grabbed the piece of paper and turned it over to read.

'Mr Hashimoto,

Welcome to the super-awesome bonding mall-sleepover Funtime trip! Since, you're here, you might as well enjoy yourself and bond with your classmates! Maybe you could write them a letter with all this stationary you have. Anyways, enjoy your night!

-Little Kuma'

After reading the letter, Haruki crumpled it up and threw it away in the small bin next to the desk. On the desk there was a collection of pens, varying from cheap ballpoint ones to intricate gold fountain ones. Nothing Haruki would see himself using.

Before he could investigate more of his room, an announcement sounded off throughout the wing.

"Testing, testing!" It was Little Kuma. "Since you're settling in, I thought I should mention that you all have a metal screen to pull down over your room to keep you safe from any robbers or whatever. Just thought I should let you know! Now sleep tight, kiddoes!" Haruki already felt that voice was annoying. At least this time it was helpful advice. He looked above the opening in his room and there was in fact a metal handle which presumably brought down the screen. Curiosity got the better of him, and he used the desk chair to lower the screen. It was a folding screen that had lots of holes so Haruki could still see the hallway out of it.

He felt tired-even though just a little while ago he woke up on the bus- so he decided not to spend any more time exploring his room. _Everything would still be there tomorrow_, he thought before going to sleep.

* * *

(A/N) Hi! I'm Raven, and I'm the author of this story. The chapters are gonna be about 700-1000 words since I'm gonna update frequently, so don't expect a super long chapter every time. Also, coming up is the free time event concept, which is going to be weird since this is a book and not a game. How it's going to work is I'll have a separate book for each character's first free time event (all of them on one), and you can choose which character's to read. Of course, to get the true experience, you should only read the amount of fte as there are in the book, but you could just read them all ahead of time if you feel like it. Please don't, though. Also keep in mind that I have to write 16 fte each time you can choose one, so that might take a while to come out.

Thank you! Please review if you have the time and keep reading to find out what happens!


	4. Chapter 4

The next time Haruki woke up, there was a thin stream of light filtered into his room. For just a moment he forgot everything from the night prior, and he felt the sweetness of waking up to natural light. Only when he saw the generic furniture was he reminded of the unfriendliness of the room he woke up in. He exhaled fully and moved over the thick blankets that were covering him. Outside of his room there was loud chatter that seemed to stab his head like needles with every word they said.

Feeling the need to know what was going on, he pulled up the metal 'door'. In front of the room next to him was a group of girls chattering excitedly. He hadn't actually seen everyone during the night before, so he couldn't tell if it was all the girls or not. Looking down the wing, he saw that there was only one more room with the screen pulled down, and it was way at the end.

Most of the teens were hanging out in each other's rooms, with only a few preferring to remain alone. Haruki threw on the sweatshirt he found lying next to his bed and ventured further down the wing until he saw a small gathering of guys sitting on the tile by a potted shrub. He kneeled by them, making himself welcome in the group.

"Yo dude," one blonde guy greeted, scooting over to compensate for Haruki. "Welcome to our dudes-only club!" He put his hand up, getting an awkward high-five from the confused boy.

"Oh my god Asahi, don't be so cliché..Ignore him. We're just a bunch of guys being dudes." The loud guy from the bus pushed over the blonde guy playfully.

"Is it okay if I hang with you guys? I only really know a couple of the girls.." Haruki's shy response made the two guys laugh.

"Of course! We're trying to find more guys to talk to anyways." Blondie, also known as Asahi, responded.

"Oh good. By the way, who's that guy over there?" Haruki pointed to one average-looking guy walking around the wing.

"Him? I think his name's Tetsuya. Since we woke up, he's been exploring. I think he already covered the south wing; what a psycho. I don't wanna do shit here." Bus guy explained.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to understand your area in a situation like this." Asahi advocated.

"Yeah I know," Bus guy defended, "I'm just saying I don't get why he would do that. I'm not an asshole or anything."

"Don't lie Toshio." Asahi joked.

"I wouldn't lie to my friends- hey don't punch me like that!" Bus guy- or Toshio as Asahi called him- yelled as Asahi playfully hit him.

Haruki felt uncomfortable with their overwhelming closeness, so he stood up and left without even saying goodbye. As he walked away he swore he could feel the confused stares directed at him. He focused on the ground to avoid further embarrassment. In his awkward shuffle, he lost his center of gravity and started to fall. Luckily there was someone close by so he couldn't make contact with the ground. When he awoke from the trance he was in, he realized he was in the arms of a short girl with bright pink pigtails. She steadied him into a standing position.

"You gotta be careful there; wouldn't want you falling for me this easily!" She chirped, giving a silly smile.

Haruki grew red. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me…"

She quietly sighed, "I guess I'll have to. Hey, since I did you a favor, you should give me something in return."

"What would you want?" He asked.

"Hmm, let me think about it." She waited a little while before following up. "That's it! Why don't you write me a poem?"

"That's it? Well I can't promise it'll be any good, but it'll certainly be a poem."

"Sweet! Alright, I'll show you my room so you know where to deliver it."

She took hold of Haruki's hand and guided him to the room across from his. Her room was decorated like a clothing store, with there being pictures of children and teens modeling different outfits on the walls and even a few mannequins towards the back of the room.

"Yup, so now you know where my room is- so there's no reason not to write that poem!" The girl smiled and fell back onto her bed.

"Right, well, I'll start writing later, so see you then."

"Wait!" The girl called from her bed, "I didn't even tell you my name! How can you write a poem without knowing the person's name? Anyways, my name is Naoko. Naoko Mizushima that is." She winked.

"Thanks Naoko." Haruki bowed and left, walking to his own room.

He sat down in his desk chair and put his head in his hands, exhaling. All these new people were quite vibrant with their personalities, and it was tiring Haruki.

"How long will I have to stay with these people?" he asked himself. Thinking about all the people he has yet to meet, he closed his eyes and yawned. With that, he drifted into a light sleep.

Unfortunately for Haruki, just minutes into his nap the intercom system squeaked to life with the obnoxious voice of Little Kuma, causing him to jolt awake.

"Attention everyone! It's good to see everyone awake and mingling, but soon we will be having our first class meeting! In a half-hour, everyone will meet in the center of the mall for our meeting. Go or else I will cut holes in all your favorite socks!" The bear chuckled before turning off the intercom.

Haruki groaned and went back to sleep, hoping that someone would wake him up before the meeting.

* * *

Please review if you're liking the story so far! It's really appreciated and the only way I can get feedback. As of writing this, I only have 2/15 free time events done so if it takes a while to get those all out when it's time please don't get mad.

Thanks for reading!

-Raven


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, hey, Haruki," A smooth voice whispered, getting increasingly harsher with each word. "You need to wake up!" The owner of the voice nudged Haruki, who was asleep on the desk. With the contact he opened his eyes, face to face with Chika Hanae.

"Ah, finally." She let go of her breath. "I wasn't sure if you would wake up. It's time for the meeting."

"Sorry if I troubled you. How did you even know I was in here?" Haruki asked, sitting up and fixing his hair, which had became a mess from the desk.

"There's always a straggler when it comes to these things. C'mon, we don't have much time before it starts."

"Agh, fine."

The center area was packed, with there seemingly being no seats left. The cushioned seats formed two rows, which curved into an arc around a metal folded chair that was set up. There was a loud chatter from the group, only increasing when Chika and Haruki approached.

While most were standing in front of the seats, Tsubasa was sitting in one of the seats far on the bottom row. When they saw the pair walking closer, they gave a small wave, signaling Chika to bring Haruki to them.

Chika managed to take the seat next to Tsu, leaving Haruki to find somewhere else to sit. It seemed impossible to him, since not everyone was waiting orderly for further instruction. One girl even tripped, over the top row, getting up with an expression as if she'd been pushed.

After what felt like hours of chaos, Little Kuma ran in holding a disorganized pile of note cards.

"Woah, who set up my chair for me?" He asked, plopping down on the metal seat. When no one confessed, he spoke again. "No one wants to admit they're good, huh? Whatever, it was a kind gesture anyways. Now, since everyone's here, please take a seat so our first school assembly can begin!"

Just as he ordered, all the students sat down in the nearest seats until there was only one open spot left. Haruki quickly grabbed that spot, finding himself in between Asahi and another girl he had yet to meet.

"Great," Little Kuma praised, "now that that's settled, Let's start our assembly! First off: the school rules. One, you all have to be in bed at 10pm sharp. Two, we will have meetings just like this every morning at the same time, so don't try to sleep through it!" With that extra bit, Haruki blushed in embarrassment.

"Why do we need meetings, exactly?" A harsh female voice asked. As Haruki looked, he noticed it was the same girl that tripped earlier. She still looked mad. Her dark blue hair seemed spikier now with her anger.

"Oh, good question indeed! We have these meetings so I, your headmaster, can bond with you guys and know what's going on in your lives! I care about my students, you know."

The girl huffed and stood up. "If that's all we're here for, then I'm going back to my room." She stepped over the front row, trying not to fall again.

"You can't do that!" Yelled the bear. He put himself in front of her, blocking her path. "This is a mandatory meeting. You know what mandatory means, don't you?"

"Of course. It means you're forcing us to sit here and listen to you spout crap to us for an hour."

"I never said how long it was going to be. Just be patient."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I- um- ah-" he was puzzled. "Oh! I'll give everyone who stays until the end a present tomorrow!"

"I'm sure it won't be any good, but I guess I'll stay for that." She crossed her arms and returned to her seat, earning several stares from the other students.

The rest of the meeting was just Little Kuma talking about some of the 'fun' things they'll do on the trip. Haruki tried to pay attention, but the topic didn't interest him in the slightest. Luckily the meeting was almost over.

"Alright, just one last thing: You might have noticed it but there are parts of the mall you don't have access to yet. The east and west wings on this floor are c;closed off right now, and two whole floors above us have blocked-off stairs. Don't get scared though! I'll tell you how to unlock them tomorrow. It would actually be more frightening if you were in a completely open mall, right? You would all get lost! That's why I blocked it off. You can thank me later. " Little Kuma smiled as he concluded his stupidly long meeting.

"There's never gonna be a 'later' if you don't let us go." The annoyed girl shouted.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Well I didn't have anything else to say anyways. With this, you are all officially dismissed!" As soon as he said 'dismissed' the students rushed out of the center, desperate to enjoy their lives again.

Haruki went back to his room, since he didn't know where else to go. Right before he entered though, he felt a tug on his shoulder. He turned around to see Toshio and Asahi. His mind immediately panicked due to his poor exit earlier, but they didn't look upset, so he felt a little relieved.

"Yo, you wanna come to our rave tonight?"

* * *

(a/n)

Hey thank you for reading to chapter 5! I'm really enjoying writing this, so I hope you like the story. Free time events are still going slowly, which is why I didn't make it _that_ meeting. 4/15 right now.

If you've made it this far, then tell me who your favorite character is! Mine is probably Toshio.


	6. Chapter 6

They stood in front of him, their frames forming an intimidating wall that countered their friendly invitation. Haruki didn't know how to respond.

"Why are you having a rave?" He decided to ask.

Asahi answered him. "'Cuz no one else seems to want to get everyone together!We're teenagers in a giant mall, we have to do something exciting while we're here."

"Yeah," Toshio continued, "plus I found a bunch of glow sticks and other shit in one of you guys' rooms-"

"-We found them" Asahi corrected.

"I found them, and I will take the credit for it. Anyways, so then I had the idea to throw a huge party, and here we are, inviting people!" Toshio explained.

"So will you come?" Asahi asked again.

Haruki considered the pros and cons of going to this party in his head. Pros included getting to hang out with the friends he's made so far, the fact that he would probably get to eat some sugary food and that he would be able to party without much judgement. Cons included that the party would probably get interrupted by Little Kuma, that he would still have to wake up before 7 the next day and that he might embarrass himself in front of the people he hasn't even met yet.

The pros pretty much outweighed the cons. "Sure, when is it?"

They cheered, giving Haruki a high-five. "It starts at 8 o'clock tonight. See ya then!" And with that they went to another door, leaving Haruki with something else to think about during the day.

He sat on the floor in front of the still unopened boxes, wanting to clear them and make more space in his room. Scissors in hand, he opened the first one and saw there were stacks of paper with fun designs on them. He put the stacks to the side, deciding that would be the paper pile.

After opening all the boxes, Haruki found that most of them contained various paper and pens aside from one which contained his clothes. That box was a bit of a surprise for him to see after boxes and boxes of stationary, but he didn't find himself too concerned. It was a school trip after all, so his parents must have packed them for him. He took the clothes and put them in his dresser, thankful for clean outfits.

There was silence in the mall, at least from what Haruki could hear, and he felt like he was alone. Only when he heard faint sniffling did he notice that there were other people in the mall. Hearing the noise again, he got up and wandered through the halls in attempt to find the source. He located the dorm it came from and entered.

Sitting on the floor in a tight ball was a girl who had her hands woven through her mahogany hair, her body shaking. She didn't seem to see Haruki, enveloped in her panic.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Haruki asked, stepping closer to the girl. She looked at him and scooted back, putting her hands over her chest.

"There's nothing wrong. And if there was, it's nothing you can fix!" She yelled harshly, trying to suppress the voice cracks that came through anyways. Even if he believed her words, Haruki could still see how red her eyes were.

"Are you sure? Did something happen?" He took a step closer, causing her to back up again into one of the cardboard boxes scattered around her room.

"No! Nothing happened! Just leave me alone! Don't you have any respect?"

"I do! I just thought you were sad, that's all."

The girl's face turned into one of annoyance, and she stood up. "Well s-since you wasted my time, you'd better help me unpack all these boxes. I think whoever packed them used some kind of spell to seal me out of them. How else would a goddess be unable to open such a simple box?"

"A-alright.."

They opened and unpacked the boxes together- well, Haruki unpacked the boxes while the girl watched and picked fun at him. All her boxes were filled with shoes except for one which had clothes in them. She got embarrassed from the clothes and kicked Haruki out. Before going back to his room, he took a peek at the name tag by her room.

"Moyasu Etsuko..what an interesting person.." He mumbled before walking down the length of the hall.

He realized when passing by all the rooms that he hadn't had anything to drink since he arrived, and his throat was extremely dry. Luckily there was a water fountain in between some of the rooms, which Haruki was glad to see. While he drank the room-temperature water, he heard a faint conversation taking place somewhere far away from him; but it seemed to be getting closer and he could start making out the words.

"I think it's ridiculous that that bear thinks he can put us in such a run-down building. It's ridiculous! Before he sets us free this damn place will collapse and we'll suffocate under the moldy ceiling!" An aggressive male said to someone else. Haruki recognized his voice from the bus- he must be Osamu.

"You're right, but I don't think his intention is to kill us. There's no reason; we haven't done anything. Or at least I haven't. Who knows what some of the other people here do for fun." This voice belonged to a girl, and she sounded more serious than mad.

"You're correct there- I bet that rude girl would commit a crime if she hasn't already." Osamu replied.

The voices were getting louder, and Haruki just kept pretending to drink water.

"She would be in the middle of robbing a house then give up and leave because the things in there wouldn't be good enough for her!" The girl joked, causing them both to laugh. Wanting to see who the girl was, Haruki turned his head, but the pair saw him and paused in their track.

"I wouldn't drink that water. It probably has several species of bacteria based on the poor condition of the rest of this building." Osamu suggested.

"Ah, sorry I was just really thirsty!" Haruki apologized nervously.

"If you want good water, my dorm has plenty. Do you need some?" The girl asked. She had long light brown hair that looked silky, and her school uniform was perfectly wrinkle-free.

"Yes please!" Haruki pleaded, a lot louder than he meant.

"Then it's decided: follow me. My name is Sarah Chikako, if you were curious."

Sarah's dorm contained an unreal amount of bottled water in various sizes ranging from bottles you would expect to buy in packs of 24 at your local grocery store to jugs that could fill up a bathtub half-way. She gave one of the small bottles to Haruki, which he graciously accepted.

As they interacted more, Haruki noticed that Osamu wasn't really rude as he originally thought, just a bit strange. Sarah seemed to be more level-headed, providing a good balance between the loud Osamu and shy Haruki. The three of them continued to hang out for the rest of the morning until they received a message.

"Hey guys!" Little Kuma said over the intercom. "I just want to let everyone know I am having a barbecue for all of you! Come with an empty stomach because this meat is going to be good! It'll be ready in an hour, so come them! This is Little Kuma signing off!"

At least there'll be lunch.

* * *

A/N

Wow, six chapters already! I know you guys are looking forward to the killing but I really want to build the characters first so you can

1.) tell them apart

2.) care about them when they die

But the next morning in the story will be the meeting where they get told it's a killing game I promise.

The next chapter's gonna be the bbq, then the one after that is the rave. Then we'll let the games begin!

Who do you think is gonna die first?

Only time will tell! See you all next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

When the hour before the barbecue passed, Haruki followed the delicious scent until he was at the event, which was set up in the food court. Nearly everyone was there chatting or getting ready to eat. Haruki saw Chika and another guy talking on one of the few picnic tables that were there, and decided to join them.

"Hey Chika!" He greeted, sitting next to her. "Who're you talking to?"

"My name is Tetsuya Nakano." The boy across from Chika said to answer Haruki. He had a smile on his face and he looked very professional, even sticking his hand out to be shook.

"Haruki." He shook his hand, glad to meet a guy who at least seemed normal. The name Tetsuya was familiar to Haruki but he couldn't remember where he heard it.

"Hashimoto, right? Chika was talking about you." Tetsuya said, causing the mentioned girl to blush lightly.

"What did she say?" Haruki asked, looking at Chika.

"Well," Tetsuya answered, "She just said how nice you were. You haven't done anything else since last night, right?" Both Chika's and Haruki's cheeks turned a light red as Tetsuya laughed. "I'm just kidding!"

Haruki saw a bunch of the students lined up by a table, and he used that as his escape. "It looks like we can start getting food now, I'd better get in line soon."

"Yeah let's go." Chika followed him, Tetsuya joining them moments after.

At the front of the line was a table packed with varying meats, breads, vegetables and some sweets. There was so much food that it could feed an entire high school thrice over. Haruki was anxious to get to the table, as he hadn't eaten since arriving either. From the way everyone pushed to get the feast, Haruki deduced that no one had any food yet.

While thinking about his hunger, Haruki missed the line moving up so he hurried to regain his spot before someone cut him. In doing this, he noticed that a familiar brunette was in front of him.

"Hey Chouko," he tapped her shoulder, getting her to turn around. When he saw her olive eyes, he continued. "What's up? I haven't seen you yet today."

The girl smiled. "I'm starting to make some friends. I'm kinda glad we are being fed, I wasn't sure. What about you?

"It's exhausting trying to talk to everybody," he admitted, "but I think after a few more days I'll know everyone better. Are you going to the rave later?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not very good with loud things- plus those guys scared me a little."

"I get it. Hey, why don't we go together? If you want to leave during it, that's fine but I think it would be fun." Haruki suggested. The line moved up again.

"Sure."

Chouko turned back around and they waited until it was their turn to get food. Their conversation helped pass the time, so it was only a couple more minutes. Haruki ended up with a hefty plate of chicken and fish as well as some vegetables. The plate was thin, heating up very fast and forcing Haruki to pick a table fast. He chose the closest table and set the plate down in relief.

At the table was two guys playing cards. One had dyed yellow hair, although his dark roots were showing, and was wearing a grey tank top with a pink sweater tied around his neck, while the other had light honey-colored hair and was wearing an oversized white button-up and a yellow vest with a matching bow tie. The cards were all over the table, and the yellow-haired guy looked confident in whatever game they were playing.

Haruki didn't want to interrupt their game so he chose not to introduce himself until a better time came. They didn't seem to care that he was there or even notice he set his food down despite the tasty smell. Haruki started eating as he watched them play.

"How are you so good at this?" The honey-looking guy asked with a hint of distress in his voice.

"I did tell you I made this game up, didn't I?" The other boy put down a card. It must've been a good choice because honey boy groaned.

"You're so mean! Well, it looks like the line has gone down so we could get some food now."

"Nah" The yellow-haired guy said. "I think I'll stay here. Go on ahead though, I want you to be nourished for our next game."

Honey boy sighed and got up. "Fine." He said before getting in the now short line.

Out of the corner of his eye Haruki saw the card guy scoot closer to him.

"Hey, I didn't even see you sit here, when'd that happen?" He asked.

Haruki looked up at him. "Uh I don't know, but if you want me to leave that's fine."

"Oh no no no, it's not a problem. In fact, I'd love another opponent to play Cowboy Time with." He gave a friendly smile. His attitude gave off an interesting aura, one that was both sincere and mischievous.

"Is that what you were playing with that other guy?" Haruki asked.

"Yup! I can teach you the rules, they're easy. Oh by the way, my name's Akito Suoh. And that 'other guy' is Adler Everett. What about you?"

"Haruki Hashimoto. So how do you play your game?"

Akito explained the rules to Haruki, even though he didn't understand them, and they played a practice round before Adler returned with some food. When he arrived the three of them played Cowboy Time until Adler got sick of losing. Haruki didn't blame him, the game was confusing.

The barbecue was calming down until a new event was started all of a sudden.

"Hey guys, there's an eating contest going on with the leftovers! Anyone can join just try not to puke!" Asahi yelled. A few people gathered immediately, with Haruki ad Adler joining them shortly after.

The participants all sat at one of the tables, squeezing in 7 people on a 6-person bench.

"Okay, it's time to meet our daring challengers! First, your host, Asahi Watanabe!" Asahi announced, mimicking a radio host. He received wary claps from the 'audience', which was just the participants. "Next is Naoko Mizushima! Naoko, how are you feeling?" He held out an imaginary microphone to the girl.

"I'm feelin' good Asahi.I'm hoping to win, but honestly I wouldn't mind coming out of here with a different kind of snack." She winked at Asahi.

"Haha, go for it. Anyways, our next player is Osama Yamashita! Are you confident?" He moved the 'microphone' to Osamu, who was smirking.

"Of course. I have been training day and night for the past 12 years for this moment. This is the true test of my abilities." His strange statement made Sarah, who was next to him, chuckle.

"What about you, ?" Asahi questioned.

"I'm not trying to win, just get something to eat. I forgot to eat earlier so I took this chance." She admitted. Asahi nodded in contentment.

"That is so inspiring. Anyways, next is Adler Everett! What are your thoughts on the contest?" Asahi moved to the other side of the table where the last three participants were.

"It's better than staring at the posters in my room." He stated with a small smile.

"Indeed it is." Asahi nodded. "What about you, Haruki?"

Haruki froze. He didn't prepare anything for this moment. "Uh- I- uh - well," He stammered, trying to find something good to say. "I want to win." He finally said.

"What intelligent words." Asahi smiled and Haruki released the breath he was holding. "Finally we have Tetsuya Nakano. What do you have to say?"

"Well, I don't care whether I win or lose because I know any of the people here are capable of winning. I'm just honored I get to participate." He said.

"There you go folks, that's everyone! Now get ready for the most intense eating contest you will ever see!"

* * *

Okay so ik I said the bbq would just be one chapter but it's no so uh

Next chapter: rest of barbecue and start of rave

Chapter after that: Rest of rave

Please review if you're liking the story so far!


	8. Chapter 8

Toshio put plates of food in front of the participants, making sure they were even before Asahi blew a whistle and everyone started eating.

Haruki ate the bread first, saving the filling meat for last. Even with all the bread gone, the plate didn't look any smaller. Looking to the right, Haruki saw that Adler had chosen to eat the rice first, and his plate was reduced to a small pile of meats, vegetables and breads. Then he realized he was wasting time by comparing his accomplishments to others, so he went back to eating, now consuming red and green pepper slices. The food was becoming less and less enjoyable as he ate more of it.

"It looks like right now in the lead we have Naoko, going at a speed previously unimaginable! What glorious form she's got!" Asahi commentated.

By the time he was done with the vegetables and rice, Haruki glanced again at his opponent's plates. They were all very close to being done other than Sarah. Naoko was getting slower in her eating, probably due to fatigue, but she was the closest to being done. Next was probably Tetsuya, who was going at a steady rate but catching up to Naoko.

"Haruki what are you doing? Why have you stopped?" Asahi asked, running over to him with the imaginary microphone.

"I'm just taking a break- I'm very full." He lied, patting his stomach to make it more believable.

Clearly it was not believable, as Toshio yelled 'that's bullshit' from the next table over. Haruki sighed and ate more.

"Yeah! You've got this! There's still a chance for anyone to win!" Asahi yelled, going back to try and commentate.

It was hopeless though, as after just another minute the winner was declared. "It seems that even after his humble remark, the winner of the contest is Tetsuya!"

Everyone looked up and saw that Tetsuya's plate was indeed finished. He looked surprised as if he didn't know he ate everything.

"What does the winner have to say?" Asahi asked, still holding the 'microphone'.

"Honestly I'm shocked. I didn't think I would win, but here I am."

Asahi chuckled. "Well clearly your victory was well-deserved. Thank you everyone for participating and for those watching at home: good night!" He gave a perfect smile then put the 'microphone' down.

After the contest everyone got ready to go back to their dorms. Haruki stuck around to help Little Kuma clean up since no one else was there. It was hard work cleaning up all the food on the floor, but Little Kuma gave him a free t-shirt with an anime girl on it so in the end it wasn't that bad.

With his new shirt slung over his shoulder and the food court spotless, Haruki walked through the wing until he reached the center area. He didn't expect to see a head of red hair sitting in one of the seats, but upon further inspection it was true.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? I thought everyone else went back to the dorms already." Haruki said, walking even closer to the now annoyed boy.

"For your information I've been out here for well over an hour, does that please you?" He said, bearing the same expression and tone as when he spoke out against Little Kuma the night prior.

"Wait- didn't you go to the barbecue?" Haruki asked, sitting down next to the muscular man.

"Of course not. I gain nothing from interacting with you people. If you were smart like Ms. Beaulieu and I, you would have avoided the event entirely." He set the book he was reading down and turned his cold eyes onto Haruki.

"Ms. Beaulieu? Who's that?" No one that Haruki remembered had that last name.

The man sighed. "I guess you're less observant than I figured. The dorms all had the occupant's full name written on it, so it's an easy way to learn everyone's name. Easier than talking to everyone. Whatever. You may remember her from her outburst at the meeting?"

It clicked. "Oh, her. So she didn't go to the barbecue either?

"No. And now that you're all caught up, I will be leaving. I came out here to avoid conversation and this one has gone on for far too long." He got up, picked up his book and walked away.

"Hey wait!" Haruki called as he ran up to the guy. "What's your name?"

"Daijiro Fujiyama. Will you leave now?"

"Yes, thank you!" Haruki went into his room, letting Daijiro walk away.

With another few hours before the rave, Haruki had to find some way to pass the time. Luckily Sarah was walking by his room.

"Sarah!" Haruki called. The girl looked at him and softened her gaze.

"Do you need something? I was going to get a drink." Sarah placed her hand on her hip.

"Sorry if I interrupted you, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out until the rave?" Haruki asked, hoping that she would accept.

She nodded. "Sure. Would you like to come with me to the food court?"

"Yeah!" Haruki cheered, meeting her in the hallway.

They walked down the long hallway in silence until they reached the food court. Everything was just as sparkling clean as Haruki left it.

"Looks like Little Kuma cleaned everything up already. I'm surprised, since there was quite a bit of food, and the bear is so small." Sarah observed.

Haruki was quick to correct her. "Actually, I helped him. Not a lot though, if you're thinking it was all my work." He said, his voice cracking at the end. Despite his statement being untruthful, he didn't want to come off as self-absorbed.

"I see. Good job. I would'nt've wanted to clean up after that eating competition."

"It really wasn't that big of a deal.."

As Sarah recalled her original intention, her and Haruki found the water fountain in the food court and hydrated. The water felt good after a hefty lunch and some rough hours of cleaning, and Haruki never thought that he would enjoy a water fountain so much. He questioned the fact that Sarah was drinking from the fountain when earlier she suggested against it, but Sarah just shrugged in response.

After getting drinks, the pair sat down at one of the tables. During the barbeque, each table was adorned with a blue and white checked tablecloth, but now they were bare.

"So, Sarah, why do you think we were brought here?" Haruki asked, resting his head on his arm.

"I have no idea." The brunette girl said with a tease of a smile. "Although I do think time will tell. After all, it's been less than a day since we arrived."

"Oh yeah, I forgot we just got here.. Sorry, it just feels like forever."

"I guess it would. Don't worry, at least it doesn't seem like we're in any danger." Sarah tried to reassure the boy. "Hey, Asahi's coming over here. He looks upset."

Haruki turned his head to look, and sure enough the blonde boy was slowly making his way over to where him and Sarah sat. His head was low, sunglasses gone from his hair. When he reached the table, he distanced himself, still looking down.

"Hello Watanabe-san." Sarah politely greeted.

Asahi didn't greet back. "Rave's being postponed." He said harshly, as if he was delivering a much more tragic message.

"Huh, why?" Haruki interjected.

"Don't ask me. We're having it tomorrow instead." the sad tone sounded foreign from the easy-going male.

After the short interaction, he left without any further explanation. Sarah and Haruki were left puzzled and concerned.

"What do you think happened?" Haruki asked after they could no longer see the blonde from their table.

"Perhaps Little Kuma found out?"

"Ah, maybe that's it! I bet if Asahi's that upset, Toshio must be crushed too. He made it out to sound like the rave was his idea, so he must've really been looking forward to it." Haruki's face drooped in despair as he pictured the boys getting chewed out by Little Kuma.

Sarah played with the ends of her side bangs, thinking diligently. "It might be worth it to check the situation out. That little bear is probably still around, so if we come up with a good argument, he might let us continue our plans for the party."

"Do you really think so?" Haruki asked. Seeing Sarah nod, he stood up from his seat."Well, let's try then."

The pair departed from the food court, determined to bring justice to the partiers. As they drew closer to the rooms, the situation cleared up, and it was not what they originally guessed. Small amounts of blood stained the floor, and Asahi's sunglasses lay shattered on the ground. Little Kuma was there, sweeping up glass shards from the floor with a tiny broom.

When he saw Haruki and Sarah, he let out a frustrated sigh. "What, are you guys going to get into a fight too?"

Hi! I forgot to write this summer but uh enjoy

Please please leave a review! I also really want to know who your favorite character is :]


	9. Chapter 9

It ended up being Adler who provided the story behind the fight.

"_Hey, ponytail!" Akito called. Knowing who he meant, Toshio turned around. _

_Toshio gave a huge grin. "What's up?" _

"_Dontcha think the rave is a little too close to the barbeque? I mean it's a great idea to bring us all together, but I know I'm way too stuffed to dance." The short boy whined, patting his stomach to add effect. _

"_Huh?" The brunette's cheerful expression fell. "Wait! I saw you not get food earlier! You're full of bullshit!" He yelled when he noticed the flaw in Akito's statements. _

_Akito was unbothered. "You probably missed it; I got a plate during your competition- nice job on that by the way!" _

_The fake compliment went right past Toshio, who grumbled at the counter in evidence. Akito took it as an opportunity to continue. _

_"It makes sense now, doesn't it?" He giggled. "And if I, who barely ate a thing, am too full to dance, imagine how someone like Tetsuya feels! All that food you made him eat, and now you expect him to give his all at a party? How cruel."_

_"It's not cruel! I just want people to have fun while we're trapped here." Toshio said sadly, balling his fists as anger started to fill his mind. He was starting to believe what Akito was saying. It was exactly what the little blondie wanted. _

_"Maybe you should just give up on that!" Akito suggested cheerfully, egging the partier on further. _

_Toshio was taking the bait like candy. His face was becoming redder by the second, and his eyebrows furrowed as he grew frustrated. Seeing this reaction, Adler decided to step in. He had been passing by to get something from his room, and was watching to see if a fight would break out. He wouldn't have to wait much longer._

"_Hey, c'mon Akito, you don't have to say that kind of stuff to him." Adler reasoned. _

_Akito looked at the guy who had entered the conversation, putting a grin on his face. "Oh, well if it isn't my good friend Adler Everett!" He slung his arm over Adler's shoulder, as if they were great pals instead of people who had just met. "I was just telling Toshio the truth. You were in his eating contest, right? Aren't you just absolutely stuffed?" _

_Adler shied away from the male's sudden affection, uncomfortable with his forwardness. "I mean- I dunno, really. I don't think it's that big a deal."_

_Akito removed his arm, backing away and pouting. "Agh! You're no fun, Adler. Why you always gotta side with the bad guy?" _

"_The bad guy? Toshio didn't do anything. Right, bro?" Adler asked Toshio, but didn't receive any kind of response. Toshio had his face pointed at the ground, his hands balled up so tightly that they were visibly shaking. He looked like a predator ready to pounce at any moment. _

"_Aw, look at that," Akito said, back to his usual tone. "He's shutting down! Did what I say hurt you? I'm sorry, I'm just poking around." He made his way to the male's side, attempting to pull the large man into a hug with his scrawny arms. _

_That was the final nerve for Toshio. He sprung up and whipped Akito off of him, yelling with great fury. Akito was thrown to the ground by the sudden force, but he got back up without a second beat. Toshio didn't even bother wiping the hot tears from his eyes as he shoved the small blondie into the wall next to him, pinning him by his shoulders. By now, Akito realized he had gone too far. _

"_Adler, help me- he's gonna kill me!" Akito whined, dramatically gasping for air as if he were being choked. Adler didn't know what to do. Not getting any aid, Akito tried to reason with the mass holding him against the wall. "C'mon Toshio, you're being unreasonable! I wasn't _serious _when I said all that stuff- okay okay stop it!" His yells were desperate as Toshio's grip increased with every word. _

_Seeing that, Adler went behind Toshio and tried to pry him away. "Hey man, it's okay, you don't need to hurt him." He said, hardly budging the massive guy. Finally they both stumbled backwards, but Toshio wasn't done. He raised his fist, his knuckles white from pressure, and slammed into Akito. _

"_Stop it! Hey, c'mon, stop it!" Akito wailed as he got punched in his bicep. He managed to flee from the wall, the pain in his arm throbbing already. "What the hell, man?" Before Toshio could land another hit, Akito kicked him in the shin with all his might, causing both of them to step back. _

_The kick only made Toshio angrier. He was quick to strike, aiming for Akito's face as he slammed his fist again onto the weaker male. A snap could barely be heard over all three of the males' yelling. Akito wailed even louder, and Adler could already see the blood beginning to drip onto the floor. He couldn't take it anymore. Adler sprinted to the dorms, yelling for someone to help. At this rate, Akito would be seriously injured. _

"That's sick.." Haruki mumbled when Adler finished retelling the story. He couldn't believe Akito would say things like that, or that Toshio would react like that. No one should fight each other if they don't have was just wrong to Haruki.

"Are you alright, Adler? It sounded like you got caught up in the fight too." Sarah asked, seeming unfazed by the gore in the story.

Adler played with the bottom of his sweater-vest. "Yes, I'm fine. I can only imagine the kind of pain Akito is feeling, though." He cringed as he remembered the bruises and blood that painted Akito's skin earlier.

"Hmm, well there still seems to be a hole in the story. When did Asahi get involved? His sunglasses are here, but when we saw him earlier he didn't seem hurt." Sarah wondered out loud. Haruki wondered the same thing. He must've been there at some point in order to lose his sunglasses.

They didn't have to wonder long. "I believe he was in his room when the fight happened, so he probably heard all the yelling. When I returned from alerting everyone, he was already there calming Toshio down."

"That explains it, I guess." Haruki said. "I hope Akito's alright." Although he could be annoying at times, Haruki still had sympathy for Akito. Toshio looked so strong that any hit he dealt would probably hurt really bad.

"What, are you guys talking about me?" Akito said, appearing behind Haruki suddenly. He had bandages wrapped around his nose, and had his arm wrapped up in a sort of makeshift sprint. Clearly he had received some sort of medical attention.

"Akito?! Are you okay?" Sarah asked, seeing the bandages all over his body.

The male shrugged with his non-wrapped shoulder. "Eh, just a little setback. Nothing can stop my madness!" He laughed.

"Well, at least he didn't beat you up too bad." Adler sighed. He was still shaken up from seeing the fight though, and he hardly believed Akito was fine. Sarah didn't believe it either, so she moved closer to him to inspect his wounds.

"Who wrapped you up? I wouldn't have guessed someone here has medical training." Sarah asked, feeling the bandages with her fingers, inspecting the quality of the wrappings.

Akito pushed her hands away, wincing from a bruise she passed over. "It was Chika-chi. She said she knew how to do basic medical things. Who knew, heh!"

"She did a good job. How kind of her to wrap you up in such short notice, too."

Haruki tugged on Sarah's uniform sleeve to get her attention. "Sarah, we should check on Toshio."

"Right." Sarah said with a nod. "I suppose it would be good to check on him, especially since we know Akito is alright now."

Haruki and Sarah said goodbye and went to Toshio's room. They didn't know what to expect, since they hadn't known him long enough to infer what his reaction might be. When they entered his room, they found him lying on his bed, tucked in and everything, fast asleep. He had some bruises on his arm- Haruki didn't have to get closer to see that- and his ponytail had been undone. He looked quite peaceful in his bed, almost like a worn-out child. His sleeping figure was a good sign that the fight had been resolved to some degree.

"That settles that, then." Sarah commented dryly. Haruki nodded but said nothing. Sarah sighed quietly before speaking again. "It's getting late, I think I'll be going to bed. God only knows what tomorrow has in store."

She didn't bother waiting before leaving. Haruki in turn went to his own room, closing the metal shade once again. The room was already starting to feel like home, which was weird to Haruki. How could he get used to this when it was such a strange situation?

His brain's conflict didn't bother him as he fell backwards onto his bed. The day's event had tired him to no end, and still he barely knew anything about his situation. He thought that maybe he never would know why he was brought there, and he reminded himself to persist on. He remembered that Little Kuma had mentioned more meetings; those would probably clear things up. _There's no reason to worry then right_, he asked himself as he turned the lamp by his bed off.

Wonders of the future filled his head as he drifted to sleep. After he fell asleep, the nighttime announcement rang over the intercom, but he was already out cold.

* * *

Hi! I hope you liked this chapter. Murder will begin verrry soon. Please comment if you enjoyed!


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